Football win means more than 1-0 record

Commentary

Published: Thursday, September 2, 2010

Updated: Thursday, September 2, 2010 02:09

One win and zero losses. That has to be music to head coach Gregg Nesbitt's ears.

The Bulldogs knocked off St. Joseph's (Ind.) College 23-13 on Saturday in Nesbitt's first game as a collegiate head coach. Truman certainly did not play a perfect game, but a win is a win. It's a huge step in the right direction.

So why is a win against a small Div. II college so important?

Anyone who witnessed the football team's performance last year understands why this win means more than a 1-0 record. The Bulldogs were 2-9 last season, the third time the football team has finished 2-9 since 2004. The team struggled in every area last year. Whether it was missing assignments on defense or running the wrong route on offense, Truman never seemed to function as a single unit.

But, in the last game of the season against Pittsburg State, the lights came on for the team. Truman played a well-rounded game from start to finish and beat the Gorillas for the first time since 1989. Even with a strong outing to end the season, expectations were not high for 2010.

That is why a win in the first game of the season — on the road nevertheless — boosts the team's morale. It gives the Bulldogs something to work with.

I am not saying this win automatically puts them in a position to have winning season, or even to win three or four conference games. But a win removes the low expectations label from above Nesbitt's head for at least one week.

Are there ways Truman can improve? This is an easy question to answer.

Senior quarterback Phil Davis had a solid game and was 8-of-15 passing for 130 yards. He also had 42 rushing yards on three carries. However, his backups, redshirt freshman Conrad Schottel and sophomore Taylor Breen, were a combined 4-of-14 passing for 26 yards. The offense scored three points in the second half after scoring 20 in the first 15 minutes.

The backups have to do a better job when they get playing time. I understand it is the first game of the season, but Davis did miss four games due to injury last season. His backups have to be ready for anything. Please see WIN, In the four games that Davis did not play, Truman quarterbacks were 34-of-84 with five interceptions and 435 total yards. Those numbers will not get it done if Davis would happen to miss time this year.

On the other side of the football, the defense did a great job against the run. St. Joseph's had minus 14 rushing yards. While that statistic may be hard to believe, quarterback Mike Hladik was sacked eight times for a loss of 60 yards. Seven different Bulldogs had at least half a sack and they were led by sophomore defensive lineman M.J. Kang, who had two. Not bad, considering St. Joseph's averaged nearly 180 yards per game on the ground last year and returned two of their top three running backs.

However, the Bulldogs passing defense was not very effective. Puma quarterback Mike Hladik was 21-of-39 with 238 yards and one touchdown. Although teams ran all day against the Bulldogs last season — and Truman did halt the run Saturday — they gave up 189 passing yards per game last year and were in the bottom half of the MIAA. Starting the year off giving up that many passing yards is not a good sign, considering St. Joseph's only averaged 142 passing yards per game last year.

Second, Truman's next game is against Southwest Baptist University. The Bearcats' main offensive weapon is quarterback Steven Gachette. He owns just about every passing record for Southwest Baptist. In a 60-13 loss to Central Missouri State University this season, Gachette had 292 passing yards and one touchdown. Truman is going to have to play an extremely solid game to keep Gachette from throwing for 300 yards.

Arguably the most valuable player on Saturday was junior running back Harnish Ayora. He had 95 rushing yards, 17 receiving yards and scored two touchdowns. The Bulldogs fed him the ball often, as he ran the ball 25 times. Last year, Ayora had 145 rushing yards, 31 receiving yards and scored four rushing touchdowns. If Ayora can continue to improve, he could be a very valuable part of an inexperienced Bulldog offense.

There still is a long season ahead with an extremely difficult schedule. But at least for one week, Nesbitt can claim a winning record. And who knows, if the ball bounces the right way, Truman could end up on the winning side of things.